Cherries: Robinson wants more memories

08 April 2011 07:00

FROM the Conference battleground to the rarefied heights of a League One promotion push, it has been a rapid rise for Cherries' midfield mainstay.

On April 8 2008, Anton Robinson was helping Weymouth to a 1-1 draw against Grays in front of little more than 800 spectators.

Fast-forward 36 months and the Dean Court star, an unsung hero in Cherries' transformation from League Two strugglers to Championship hopefuls, is focusing on a different prize.

For Robinson, the route to this position has not been the most straightforward.

A good example to players that have to progress through the non-league ranks, the Londoner earned his chance with Cherries after featuring for the Terras.

Asked about his time with Cherries' Dorset neighbours, level-headed Robinson reflected: I look back at the past and my career and the Conference games I played, and it shows how far I have come.

It shows what I have done to get here and it keeps me grounded. I know for a fact there are players in the Conference that could take anybody's place in League One and chew an arm off for it.

You can't take for granted what you are doing week in, week out.

It has been a learning curve from the Conference and I am glad, looking back, that I did it that way.

The difficulties he faced on and off the pitch during his spell at Weymouth he waived his final six weeks' worth of wages to ensure his January 2009 move to Cherries stood him in good stead for his early Dean Court days.

Flying high in the third tier is all well and good, but it has not always been such a bed of roses.

With money problems hitting the club immediately after he joined, and Cherries deep in a fight for League Two survival, Robinson could have been forgiven for thinking he had leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire.

But the struggles were overcome and Robinson was a dependable performer as Cherries completed the Greatest Escape before going on to gain promotion out of the basement.

Put simply, success has been on tap. And Robinson is keen to ensure it keeps flowing this season.

Despite a six-match winless run, Robinson said: We have got six games to go and they are games we feel we can win. If we do that, we will be playing in the play-offs.

We know we're good enough and we have not lost confidence. We are aware we haven't won but we are still aware we are playing teams off the park and creating chances, it is just that we aren't putting the ball in the back of the net. Once that win does come, I am sure we can go on a roll again.

We are a confident team and the least you will get from us is 100 per cent work rate. We know if we do that every game, we are going to create chances and we are going to do well.

Should he take his place in Cherries' side against Tranmere Rovers tomorrow (3pm), Robinson would continue his record of starting every league game so far this term, a fine achievement he shares only with skipper Jason Pearce.

With the campaign entering the final straight, the central midfielder is keen to play his part in another Champagne finale.

He added: I have some great memories with Bournemouth. It is my third season and so much has happened.

Hopefully, the success will not stop there and we can achieve something this season.

Ever since I joined Bournemouth, it has been nothing but great memories and, hopefully, I can add another one.

I was always confident I could get back in at a decent level. Through sheer hard work and dedication I have got to this level and, hopefully, I can get into the Championship with Bournemouth that would be a perfect scenario.

We have got six games to go and, if all the lads pull together and stay focused, we could get that.